letter: undated, unsigned

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Morning was dawning as Peter read Daniel's last testament for the umpteenth time.

"Karma is a curse..."

Who the blazes was Jaiselgrah? From the letter, it seemed that Daniel was alluding to some past incarnation of his, who apparently had compelled him to act in ways contrary to his ostensibly Christian nature.

"Bah!"

Karma is an excuse, Peter scoffed, a way to deny responsibility and blame fate for one's actions and circumstances. He would not let John Daniel off the hook so easily; despite his protestations, the man's intentions were clearly malicious, and Peter could not have permitted him to bring whatever fell plans he had to fruition. Beyond saving himself and Irene from the sorcerer's shadowy reach, he had done the world a favor by eliminating him.

At least, he hoped so.

He examined the mysterious object that Daniel had allegedly buried at the Mound of the Dead in a past life. "The mirror," he had called it. This thing must have been the source of the eldritch glow witnessed by Navid, and the vehicle through which Daniel was able to project his evil abroad. If the professor was to be believed, Peter now held in his hands a wondrous and powerful artifact, valuable beyond calculation or comprehension; the idea simultaneously thrilled and revolted him, and he involuntarily shuddered as he imagined the dreaded history of the thing that had cost a man his life.

The gibberish Daniel had written down was entirely unfamiliar to Peter, corresponding to no language he had ever heard in all his travels, and he suspected that the strange words might serve to activate the mirror. He did recognize the name Agastya readily enough, and surmised that Ia might be some manner of ritualistic salutation, but was otherwise mystified.

Peter stashed the letter and the mirror in his trunk with the Pashupati amulet, the significance of which now seemed minute. He splashed some cold water on his face from a bowl, knowing that sleep would not come until he was on the train out of this place.